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Royal Conservatory of Music National Teachers’ Directory

September 7, 2016/in Family Life, Product Review /by ValleyFamilyFun

Royal Conservatory of Music National Teachers’ Directory Disclosure: This is a sponsored post from the Royal Conservatory of Music to bring awareness to the number of highly qualified music teachers in your area. I strongly believe in music education for children and am happy to promote the RCM. All opinions are my own. Music is […]

Free Kayak Rentals in Middleton

September 5, 2016/1 Comment/in Activities /by ValleyFamilyFun

Free Kayak and Canoe Rentals from Middleton Recreation If you are looking for a fun FREE family outing, then head to Middleton to take advantage of their FREE kayak and canoe rentals! On all summer until September 30th, there’s still plenty of time to take advantage of this great opportunity! The boys have always wanted […]

Royal Conservatory of Music National Teachers’ Directory

September 7, 2016/in Family Life, Product Review /by ValleyFamilyFun

Free Kayak Rentals in Middleton

September 5, 2016/1 Comment/in Activities /by ValleyFamilyFun

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Royal Conservatory of Music National Teachers’ Directory

September 7, 2016/in Family Life, Product Review /by ValleyFamilyFun

Royal Conservatory of Music National Teachers’ Directory

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post from the Royal Conservatory of Music to bring awareness to the number of highly qualified music teachers in your area. I strongly believe in music education for children and am happy to promote the RCM. All opinions are my own.

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. ~Plato

There is no question that music is not only good for the soul, but also for brain development.

Research shows that participating in music study benefits both brain structure and brain function. Just like well-exercised muscles protect the bones and joints, reduce blood pressure and increase energy levels, music education produces bigger, better-functioning brains – a benefit to people of any age.

Dr. Sylvain Moreno, lead scientist for the Centre for Brain Fitness at the Rotman Research Institute says musical training impacts a set of processes in the brain that are related to a whole host of other activities, from intelligence and reading to the ability to focus and do well in school.

The benefits of music education include improved language abilities, increased emotional resilience, increased empathy, increased attention span and focus and increased self-confidence. Many researchers have also linked music lessons with improved IQ and academic performance.

There is no doubt, children who learn music have an academic advantage.
Growing up, music was always a big part of my life. Throughout high school I played French horn in the band, and was part of the now Annapolis Valley Honour Choir. These were some of the best experiences of my life, and the friends I made here are still close to me.

Music, and the friendships formed from it, had a huge impact on my life.

One of my regrets, though, is that I did not take my piano lessons seriously. I only casually studied for three years, so can only play the bare minimum today.

Today, there are so many gifted music teachers around us, so offering your child a top-notch musical education is not hard. It can be challenging, however, to find the right music teacher, but the Royal Conservatory has tools to help.

Visit the National Music Teacher Directory and see which teachers is available in your area.

The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world, providing the definitive standard of excellence in curriculum design, assessment, performance training, teacher certification, and arts-based social programs.

But, you don’t have to take my word for it! I called upon my musical expert friends for their thoughts on the RCM program.

“My son has been involved in a number of different piano programs, but 5 years ago we decided to switch to RCM because of their reputation.” ~ Jacklyn, mother
“I would recommend anyone who is serious about becoming proficient at the piano to do RCM repertoire, even if along with other studies. The RCM route provides students with all they need to develop good keyboard skills. This includes good graded repertoire in multiple styles that has been developed over many years, as well as accompanying technical requirements and studies which develop the technique required to play more difficult repertoire. I believe that with this system there is a higher ceiling for student’s talent.” Steve Roe, Piano teacher with Roeboat Technology Services & Education
“The benefits of following the Royal Conservatory system is the over-arching structure it gives to the learning process – in a similar way to how proper universities are ‘accredited’, there is a consistency across provinces to the RCM structure. Not only is it useful if one ends up wanting to apply to university music programs, but also it helps to avoid “holes” in one’s musical education (not all piano teachers are created equally, and they can tend to focus on one thing at the exclusion of other things they don’t find as interesting.)
Coupled with the best teacher available in the area (to avoid bad habits early on), going through RCM provides a better ‘guarantee’ that money invested in lessons will deliver some measure of specific returns.” ~Tom, gifted pianist

So, just how do you go about finding this best teacher available? Use the National Music Teacher Directory.

Simply go online, pick your discipline (instrument) of choice, enter your postal code, and how many kilometers you are willing to travel, and a list of teachers in your area will pop up. It’s that easy!

When to start?

“I would start students as early as they are able to take it seriously and devote themselves to the practice; ages 6-8 depending on the individual.” ~ Steve Roe

Start investigating now a music teacher for your child for the fall.

“The most remarkable skill my son has gained through RCM is a thorough knowledge of music theory. This understanding has enabled him to easily extend his knowledge of music to multiple instruments and singing.” ~ Jacklyn

Happy music making!

Free Kayak Rentals in Middleton

September 5, 2016/1 Comment/in Activities /by ValleyFamilyFun

Free Kayak and Canoe Rentals from Middleton Recreation

If you are looking for a fun FREE family outing, then head to Middleton to take advantage of their FREE kayak and canoe rentals!

On all summer until September 30th, there’s still plenty of time to take advantage of this great opportunity!

The boys have always wanted to try kayaking, after getting a taste of it at their friend’s cottage. I wasn’t sure if they would be able to sign up for a kayak tour, or if they would even like it that much, so when I heard about the free rentals, I knew this would be the perfect way to get their feet, or paddles wet!

How it Works

Middleton Recreation will be offering free canoe and kayak rentals from Riverside Park until Sept. 29. Call 902-825-8143 to reserve a canoe or kayak and safety gear.

There are 6 single kayaks available and 4 canoes. There must be at least one person 16+ to sign the waivers and be with the group.

Phone 902-825-8143.

Let them know how many boats you would like to rent, at what time, and on what day.

Meet the recreation staff at Riverside Park in Middleton. They will give you all the equipment and life jackets, give you a few training tips, and send you off down the river!

They have some XL life jackets that fit our 8 year old, but if you have smaller children, you might want to bring your own, or borrow them for free from the Red Cross.

Our Experience

To be honest, when we first started down the river, we had a bit of trouble. Boats flipped, and there was A LOT of complaining.

The kids had never really boated before, so they didn’t know what they were doing. Fighting the current, going up river was tough, too.

Luckily, the water was only about 18 inches deep in many spots, making it easy to stop and wait for each other to catch up.

Once we got going a bit, I was able to teach the kids a few basic strokes, based on my limited canoe training from Girl Guides. This helped a lot.

I was glad the kids had to work hard at it. Everything comes so easy to them, that they rarely have to work hard for anything. It was a great lesson in not giving up.

By the end of our hour-long journey, the boys were rock stars! They could manoeuvre around logs, turn directions, steer.

The day went from horrible to terrible to very bad to bad to ok to great! That’s what Daniel, 10 says!

Guided tours are offered every Thursday evening. Bring your own boat, or phone to book one in advance.

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Royal Conservatory of Music National Teachers’ Directory

The benefits of music education include improved language abilities, increased emotional resilience, increased empathy, increased attention span and focus and increased self-confidence. Many researchers have also linked music lessons with improved IQ and academic performance.

Today, there are so many gifted music teachers around us, so offering your child a top-notch musical education is not hard. It can be challenging, however, to find the right music teacher, but the Royal Conservatory has tools to help.

When to start?

Happy music making!

Free Kayak and Canoe Rentals from Middleton Recreation

If you are looking for a fun FREE family outing, then head to Middleton to take advantage of their FREE kayak and canoe rentals!

How it Works

Our Experience

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